Tagalong Peanut Butter Blondies

Luckily, I baked a bunch into these peanut butter blondies before they were totally gone, so we got to enjoy them in a different form. Oh, the love.

Known as Peanut Butter Patties in other parts of America, Tagalongs are my number one favorite Girl Scout cookie. Who can argue with peanut butter and a cookie drenched in chocolate? Stick all that into a dessert bar and we’re just talking pure joy.

This week we’re looking at three days of 70-degree temps in DC, which is a little weird considering that just two days ago, there was snow everywhere. If you’re still in denial about climate change, then give me a seriously good explanation of why the temps are yo-yoing up and down in this disconcerting way.

What’s weird to me is that people have turned climate change into a political issue. Years ago, when Al Gore made An Inconvenient Truth, his point of view got lumped in with his political party affiliation, and global warming became an issue that was supposedly liberal.

While I get how that probably came about, what I don’t understand is why climate change continues to be ignored or disregarded in the face of increasingly overwhelming evidence that we need to pay attention or else face the reality that this world might not remain too livable for future generations. I don’t think that’s a political statement; I think it’s a practical one.

It’s glaringly obvious that we’re a severely divided nation. Every morning I open up my Washington Post and read about debates, town halls, polls. With those news stories come endless strings of op-eds about the state of our election this coming year. So yeah, I’m pretty sure we’ve got a lot of division. But can we not drag climate change into that? So far it hasn’t come up a whole lot, but you never know.

That said, I am never one to look a 70-degree gift horse in the mouth, so I plan to spend lots of time outside and in frozen yogurt shops this week. When I can’t get my fro yo, you can be sure I’ll be sitting on a bench somewhere with one of these Tagalong peanut butter blondie bars.

If someone invented a bar for me, it would be this. Oh wait, I just did that. But seriously, this hits all my happy spots. It’s a peanut butter blondie, which means the bar is both chewy and soft. I was very generous with the Tagalong chunks, and those bursts of peanut butter chocolate explosion are the bee’s knees.

Speaking of bees, I’d better not be seeing any until summer. Climate change is scary for a lot of reasons, and we don’t want the critters coming early this year. I’d like to eat my Taglongs in peace!

Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil, leaving enough to overhang the sides, and coat in cooking spray.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Take a larger bowl and mix the brown sugar, melted butter, peanut butter, eggs and vanilla until just blended. Add the dry ingredients gradually and mix until incorporated. Fold in the Tagalong pieces.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are browned. The middle might jiggle slightly, but it will harden as the bars cool. Do not overbake. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container

I fulfill many roles in life: wife, mother, teacher, everlasting learner.
This site is dedicated to one role that expresses my creativity in ways that I find consistently challenging and rewarding: baker.
Inventing new ways to enhance food, especially if that food involves chocolate or peanut butter (or both!), is a passion of mine. I look forward to sharing my ideas with you.

Well, unless you’re mashing up two things that are great separately and gross together, like steak and whipped cream. No, thank you. But when the mash-up combines the best of both worlds, mama is happy.

What could be better than a raspberry crumb bar, you wonder? How about a raspberry crumb bar with cheesecake filling? Do I have your attention now?

Years ago, she started championing canola as a healthier alternative for people who need to keep their cholesterol low and their hearts in tip-top shape. She tries to bake with it instead of butter, and to be honest, I’m not usually with her. After all, I make a lot of dessert. Dessert usually requires butter.

But my parents did me a huge favor this past week, so I baked them heart-healthy brownies as a way of saying thank you. And want to hear the best part? You won’t even miss the butter. These are easy, quick, and taste totally decadent.

Today I took my kids to a splash playground. It sounded like a good idea at the time. But several hours and one indecent exposure later, I’m not so sure.

My son went into the bathroom to change. On the way, he must’ve dropped his Spider-Man underwear. He burst out of the bathroom in the nude in front of everyone, screaming, “I can’t find my underpants!”

Ah, kids. Can’t live with them. But I sure can’t live without them.

This Post Has 32 Comments

Yum yum yum yummmmm! I know America loves the Thin Mint cookie more than anything, but this girl is a diehard tagalong fan. When Dairy Queen came out with the Tagalong Blizzard, I lost my cool and immediately needed one. I think I’m going to immediately need one of these blondies…and about 7 boxes of tagalongs! I love the Girl Scouts creations, Mir!Jessica @ Citrus Blossom Bliss recently posted…Blogging Photography Basics

“Practical issue” is the perfect way to describe climate change! Maybe we could convince everyone of this with lots of these blondies 😉 This is the perfect use of tagalongs – love!Megan – The Emotional Baker recently posted…Chocolate Matcha Swirl Loaf

The climate change is very concerning, Mir, so I’m right there with you thinking we need to start making a change! Maybe if you handed out some of these blondies it would be incentive enough for people to give a damn? 😉 Tagalongs were my father’s favorite GS cookie and they were mine way back in the day before my cocoa allergy, so I know these blondies taste legitimately delicious! You truly are the bar queen, my dear! Keep on rocking out delicious bars! I know I never get tired of drooling over your creative genius! Pinned! Cheers!Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary recently posted…Brown Sugar & Pecan Baked Cake Donuts with Bourbon-Maple Glaze

Yeah, climate change freaks me out. I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be sweating in Minnesota in March. Yikes.
Tagalongs and Samoas-those are the cookies that always get me into trouble. Having Tagalongs in a blondie sounds like the best decision I’ve heard in a while.Amanda recently posted…Cremè De Menthe Hot Chocolate

The weather has definitely been weird and I’m not one to complain about warm weather, but I agree that climate changes and global warming are concerning! Now, the only concern I have about these bars is whether I can still find any Tagalongs. I love those dang things and I can never decide if they are my favorite or those other ones that are the peanut butter sandwich cookies. I need a GS troop at my door STAT!

These bars are precisely what I need to get through the politics of the day…soft and chewy peanut buttery splendor. I can get behind that. I’m certain these would clean up in the polls! 🙂annie@ciaochowbambina recently posted…Soul Snacks

I love Tagalongs! They look delicious in these bars. I’m home on break now, so I’m quite enjoying the sunny weather, but it is definitely cause for concern. While I agree that politicizing climate change makes it easier to deny, I do think there’s a lot of value in including climate change in political discourse, so that environmentall-friendly legislation can (maybe???) make its way through Congress. The real question is, can ANYTHING make its way through Congress these days!Medha @ Whisk & Shout recently posted…Vegan Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Isn’t it funny how your favorite Girl Scout cookies always disappear first? It doesn’t matter which flavor it is…if it’s your favorite, then it’s guaranteed to be gone first! I agree that we are definitely a nation of division now, and I’m thinking the internet has contributed significantly to that…but that’s a conversation for another day. Today it’s all about bars. I want to eat this entire batch while sitting in 70° temps!David @ Spiced recently posted…Chicken and Wild Rice Soup